Goodbye Turkey, Bonjour NBA! Deron Williams gets his jersey retired at Besiktas
The NBA lockout proved to be a blessing in disguise for overseas club basketball teams. Amongst them, CSKA Moscow and Turkish Besiktas emerged as the two most prominent winners.
CSKA acquired Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko and got immediate results by becoming the first team in the Euroleague to qualify for the top 16. On the other hand, Besiktas gained Turkish league dominance courtesy of New Jersey Nets All-Star Deron Williams, who was the first major star to proceed overseas due to the labour dispute.
It seems like he will be the first one to head back.
Deron has had a dream run in Turkey, where he not only managed to rule the court but also won over the hearts of his team and the fans. In a remarkable show of respect, Besiktas yesterday retired Deron’s Jersey in a grand farewell ceremony.
"Amazing Besiktas jersey retirement ceremony before tonight's game," Williams tweeted after the ceremony and also posted a video of it on YouTube.
Deron was in Turkey for three months and led Besiktas to a 6-1 record in the national league during the stint. He finished with an average of 19.7 points, 6.4 assists and 3.3 rebounds and just a few days ago, he piled up a mammoth tally of 50 points, his first such achievement in any league.
Deron was thrilled with his performance but was more surprised at how the fans and his team-mates were involved in it.
After the game ended, he said
"The best part about the game was how the fans really got into it. You could tell that once I had 40 with like three minutes left they were counting. Every time I would score, you could see the excitement in the gym. You could tell they wanted me to get 50. My teammates were into it too. Every time I came to the bench, my teammate Mehmet 'Memo' Yagmur was like, 'six more,' then 'four more,' and 'two more.'"
Besiktas would have ideally wanted Williams to spend the whole season with them and guide them through to the elite Euroleague spot, but they knew about the risk of losing him midway through their campaign. However, they could not have asked for more from Williams in the time, he was there. With William’s in the mix, the Istanbul based club had a huge increase in fan following and their fame reached a new level.
Now that the NBA All-Star is going back, they have made an effort to show their gratitude. In doing so, they have shown their class and have showcased the spirit of Turkey.
Tags: